Charise,

We don’t have enough information to prove MBD reversal. Based on research in rodents and humans, metabolic bone diseases (such as osteoporosis) start in childhood and can affect bone structure and health for life. That is why it is so important to start with good bone health early in life!

Regardless, anecdotal information supports that lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sunlight) have a positive effect long term. I would not call this MBD ‘reversal’. However, I would say we do get improvement!

Happy New Year!,

M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian)

Carol,

This is a really good question. First, adding flax and chia into a parrot’s diet is a great means to increase dietary omega-3s. In most cases, adjusting the diet is all that is needed. If there is diagnosis or suspicion of kidney disease, arthritis or other problems that may benefit from omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, then I will often recommend the addition of more (as with VetOmega).

Is there such thing as too much omega-3’s. Well… potentially. However, we don’t have strong research to support omega-3 ‘toxicity’. I believe in a balance of good quality fats which includes omega 3’s, 6’s and 9’s. It is best for the fats to come from a variety of food sources.

I hope this helps,

M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian)

When feeding pellets, if it contains Omega 3 in the form of flax or chia seeds. Is there still a need to feed additional supplementation? How much is too much?

Carol,

There is no right answer here. I always tell people, as much as you are comfortable with. If it is hot, don’t cook your bird. If it is cold, don’t freeze your bird. If you can get your bird out for 10-15 minutes a day- great! Somedays you may be able to do an hour or more- great!

The second half of vitamin D and sunshine is that stress must be applied to the bones (in terms of weight bearing exercise) in order to strengthen bones. Think of sunlight and vitamin D as a gym membership. It only works if you go to the gym!

I hope this helps,

M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Pracitce)

I was wondering in regard to bone health in smaller birds. How much sunlight exposure should my bird receive in the run of a day? Is there anything as too much exposure providing the right seasonal conditions? I live in a climate where our winters are cold and snow. Diet consists of pellets, nutriberries and avi-cakes that contain vitamin d3.
Thank you!

John,

There are several things that can be done to work towards better bone density:
1. Improved nutrition- sounds like you are working on this.
2. Exposure to unfiltered (direct) sunlight. I always say ‘supervised sunshine therapy’. That is make sure you don’t cook, freeze or feed your bird to the local wildlife!
3. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. When combined with exercise (see #4), omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve bone mineral density in birds.
4. Physical exercise. Even with the proper diet, sunlight and omega-3’s, nothing will happen unless the bones are stressed with exercise. This includes flying and climbing. Foraging is a good means to get a bird to move and navigate its surroundings. Flying depends on your set up and safety of the bird.

I hope this helps!

M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)

Victoria,

Good question! There are a couple issues with feeding wild birds minced meat. The first is that minced meat is generally only meat (muscle) and not the whole animal (especially the bones) which is a very unbalanced diet. This can lead to metabolic bone disease and more. Keep in mind that it is not just the adults eating the unbalanced diet, the same food is often fed to chicks which can have devastating nutritional consequences. During my last trip to Australia, I was surprised to see how many wild birds (included were magpies, butcher birds and more) were being treated at local hospitals for metabolic bone disease (and other conditions). The common issue was that these birds were found hanging around humans and eating our food! The second is that we risk introducing organisms (especially bacteria such as drug resistant E coli, Salmonella and more) that are not naturally encountered in the wild to these birds. There are other concerns, of which we don’t completely understand the effects, such as drug residues and other chemical exposures that are sometimes found in domestic meat. Another potential concern is that domestically reared meat tends to be more fatty than wild sourced meat. Again the effects of feeding these high fat diets to wild birds is not clear. The bottom line is that wild birds can suffer from eating these human sourced animal based foods. The safer alternative is to feed plant based foods to wild birds.

Sincerely,

M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)